The Watercolors Of The World
by PolandSpringz
Summary: After Kano gets beat up by a gang of kids, he returns to the alley where he left his sanity so long ago. (Relates a little to my previous tales Streetlight Monster, Cloaked in Sins, and Your Ayano)


He dragged his limp body to that alley, that alley where so many of his troubles ended and so many of them began. That alley was his place of serenity and insanity, it was where he could show his true self, and all the wounds on him, old or fresh, could shine in the pale moonlight. This alley was the bad psychological part of him he had abandoned in order to keep his sanity. He had gone here to do many things.

The alley was where he attempted to kill himself, to think things through, to cry, to kill himself, to hide himself, and now, to heal. Never once had this alley been a place of good to him, but today he would use it to heal, to heal the first physical wound someone had given him. He had received many psychological wounds but today was the first actually permanent scar. His friend, Kido, had given him bruises but he didn't consider that a wound. For Kano, a wound was something that was given to him that wasn't necessary. It took him many years to realize this. The boy struggled to reach the end of the alley. He let his body slump against the corner of the wall and he gently leaned his head back against the corner of the wall. He winced a little when he felt the surge of pain go through his head. His hand gripped the skin just above his left elbow tightly, as if trying to apply pressure to it. The blonde shut his eyes tightly as he breathed in and out deeply; he felt every one of his nerves scream out at him in agony. He opened his cat-like eyes slowly and he glanced up at the sky. It was cloudy out; hiding the red orange sunset that he wished would blind him, instead he received a rain drop on his lower eyelid, and he blinked slightly. He then glanced down out his body.

He had gotten into a fight with some punks who he had protected the girls in the Dan from earlier in the week. Of course they would find a way to hunt him down again. That always happened. Kano had received a blow to the head, it didn't knock him out but it certainly was a good attempt to. The seven teens had twisted his right ankle, broke his right leg, bruised his right arm so badly he could barely feel it and given him so many gashes. One had gone through his shirt and coat, and it went from his left shoulder to his waist on his back. He was practically coated in blood, and he had somehow forced his right arm to cover the large open wound on his other arm. The throbbing in his head grew worse as he placed his head back where it originally was placed, wedged in the corner where two walls met, and he let the fresh rain stick to his face. For once the rain felt good, to have it wash away to pain that he felt, wash away the blood. _Kido was right, _he thought, _rain is nice._ The man gradually slid down the wall a let his head droop towards the ground; it was stained in a smeared red. _It looks like a water color painting. _He laughed in his head as he smiled,_ so even the rain can make something beautiful out of a liar like me._

As he drifted from consciousness, he gently raised his eyes and saw something that was green bolt down the alley towards him, screaming his name. His vision began to blur from the tears and the rain drops. The green mixed together with the rest of the colors of the world, and as the world's paint smear got closer, he saw a familiar face crouch down in front of him. Seto, was crouched down at eye level in front of him, and was no longer yelling but quietly mumbling as he placed his hands on Kano's arms and shook him gingerly. He had a look of concern on his face as he took one hand and lifted Kano's face up to meet his eyes. Kano saw a flash of red glow in them as he read his past few hours. _I bet it flashes by, but it's almost like a movie for him, _Kano thought as Seto's expression slowly changed to something that showed his understanding of the problem. He grabbed Kano and threw him over his shoulder and ran down the street. Kano had completely lost consciousness by then.

He awoke to the sound of hushed whispers and quiet breathing as he kept his eyes shut. He blinked a few times, and then calmly opened his eyes. The bedroom was dark, with only a little bit of light peeking in through the window above his bed. Sitting next to him, on the edge of the bed, Seto glanced down at the girl who was curled up and asleep on top of the blanket beside Kano. Seto smiled as he gently flicked Kano on the forehead as he smiled.

"You had us worried for a bit there, she wouldn't leave your side." Seto said as he smiled when Kano winced a bit when the finger flicked him. Kano smirked and sat up to say something ridiculous when Seto's tone changed, "Kano. We can't have you tricking us anymore. We saw the wounds you bore from previous incidents when we where bandaging you up. I knew about them but I didn't know how bad they were. You can't use your eye ability when you're sleeping. Kido began to cry when she saw you, and when she saw the wounds from what happened to you in the past, well, let's just say it didn't go over well. I almost had to deal with two of you." Kano contemplated Seto's choice in words. "Anyway," Seto continued as he glanced away from Kano and he looked back at the olive haired girl, "please tell us if you're hurting. Not all of us can read people life story." That stung Kano worse than the pain in his leg. Seto purposely said it in a way that was ironic. Everything made sense then.

He had made eye contact with Kano every day. When they saw his old wounds, he probably knew when every single one had been formed, and Kido now shared the pain of knowing that the time when Kano seemed happy, he was really in an intense state of depression. Seto, Kido and Kano needed him more than anything. He could always read what they were feeling. He always knew the suffering of others; he knew their life story and people's personalities before he could even approach them. He could easily see through Kano and Kido's disguises, but, how did Seto put up a façade without having such a power or a way to conceal himself?

"I'm just a normal person. I learned the same way everyone else did. Sure I may suffer from a different suffering than you suffer, but I will gladly suffer with you if you want." Kano looked up at Seto. He had made eye contact with hum again. Seto got up and began to walk out the door.

"Oh by the way," he said looking back at Kano, "I liked being one of the world's watercolors before. It was a nice idea. You know, you should take up a writing class or an art class. I'm sure many people would understand your thoughts if you put them out there. I mean, we all are human right? It may sound cliché but it's the truth, no eye power can beat the natural strength of understanding."

And as the door shut, Kano was left with nothing to hear but the silent breathing of the girl beside him. In that moment, a new masterpiece that was already painted in his mind was altered. Two new water colors covered the masked painting and changed the atmosphere of the painting entirely. If two little colors can make such a drastic change, then couldn't two listeners do the same?

Kano gently shifted his body, and even though it sent a wave of pain through his body, he pulled the girl up against him and rested his head on the pillow right above her head

"I'm sorry." He mumbled, and droplets of water coated his world in watercolors once again.


End file.
